Home sites taking shape at Great Park

Heavy earth movers get the land ready for the building of homes in Five Point's District 8 area. PAUL RODRIGUEZ, THE ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER

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IRVINE – Homebuilding crews already have moved a mountain at the Orange County Great Park – or at least its equivalent – as home sites take shape and streets emerge at the former El Toro Marine base.

In the seven months since developers broke ground on the first 726 Great Park Neighborhood homes, giant CAT excavators have moved 1.5 million cubic yards of topsoil.

That's 3.6 million tons of earth, equal to about 1.2 million Nissan Altimas.

Over the next six months, construction crews are expected to bury 12 miles of utilities – sewer and water pipes, gas and electrical lines, storm drains and TV cable. Construction of the homes themselves could begin by March.

"We're finally actually under way," exclaimed Emile Haddad, president of FivePoint Communities, which is managing Great Park homebuilding on behalf of Lennar Corp. and its partners. "This is on track. It's moving. Everything is looking good. We'll actually be moving families here next year."

Visible signs of construction couldn't be more significant for the long-delayed project.

It's been a decade since Orange County voters rejected the plan to convert El Toro into a commercial airport, opting instead for the Orange County equivalent of Central Park or Balboa Park. Homebuilding was supposed to start five years ago.

But the housing market crashed two years after Lennar bought El Toro from the Navy, putting both the public and private portions of the Great Park on hold. Then, the state abolished redevelopment agencies, eliminating $1.4 billion in tax financing that Irvine officials hoped to use to finance park development.

Private homebuilding was nearly derailed when the project's lender, Lehman Brothers, had to be replaced in the wake of that firm's highly publicized 2008 collapse.

Now, homebuilding is under way, and Irvine officials are discussing FivePoint's proposal to shift parkland construction – and $211 million of parkland cost – to developers.

Work began on what's called District 8, a 171.2-acre parcel between Irvine Boulevard and Portola Parkway at the former air base's north end.

Ultimately, FivePoint and the project's backers hope to build up to 10,700 new homes around the Great Park – enough for a new town of 30,000 people.

FivePoint is in talks with about 20 homebuilding firms seeking to buy home sites. It expects to select the final six or seven builders by November who will develop 10 types of single-family homes, Haddad said.

Unlike other developments – which have separate buyer centers scattered throughout a project – FivePoint will cluster all of District 8's model homes around a single park. There will be a play area for kids, a café and a bike shop where home shoppers can rent bicycles to explore the development.

"Rather than put the burden on the potential purchaser to go from home to home, ... we're trying to make an experience of it," Haddad said.

In contrast to the Mediterranean-style homes dominating Irvine, District 8 housing will feature American Heritage architecture, with lots measuring up to 6,000 square feet. The one- and two-story houses will range from 1,800 to 3,800 square feet, with prices ranging from $600,000 to just over $1 million.

Haddad expects that families will start moving into homes near the Great park by late fall or early winter 2013.

Related Links

Heavy earth movers get the land ready for the building of homes in Five Point's District 8 area. PAUL RODRIGUEZ, THE ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER
Emile Haddad, president and CEO of Five Point Communities, with conceptual plan maps of a future Great Park. PAUL RODRIGUEZ, THE ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER
Heavy equipment gets the land ready for the building of homes in Five Point's District 8 area. PAUL RODRIGUEZ, THE ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER
A map of the Great Park and the area surrounding it shows where homes will be built and Five Point's concept of the developed Great Park. PAUL RODRIGUEZ, THE ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER
Five Point Communities map shows how a future Great Park would look. PAUL RODRIGUEZ, THE ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER
Conceptual plan map by Five Point Communities of The Great Park. PAUL RODRIGUEZ, THE ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER
Conceptual plan map by Five Point Communities of The Great Park. PAUL RODRIGUEZ, THE ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER

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